Schools may alter policy on visitors

Guests, volunteers would have to pass sex offender check

At tonight's meeting, the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education is scheduled to vote on changing its visitor policy. The change would require that all guests and volunteers undergo a sex offender registry check.

Staff file photo

By Jamon SmithStaff Writer

Published: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, June 17, 2013 at 11:38 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | The Tuscaloosa City Board of Education is scheduled to vote today on a new school guest and volunteer policy that would require visitors at any Tuscaloosa City School to undergo a sex offender registry check.

The proposal would also require that some volunteers be subject to a full criminal background check before they can work with students.

“It's a policy that fits in with our review of safety and security for our schools,” said Mike Daria, assistant superintendent of general administration.

“We're just looking to have a consistent manner in how people visit our schools. We're still welcoming of all our community members, parents, volunteers and stakeholders while ensuring there's a process to ensure our children are safe,” he said.

The current rules require that visitors sign their names and their arrival time in a guest book.

The proposed policy would require all guests and volunteers to sign in using an electronic system that scans a valid form of identification such as a driver's licence.

After a visitor's ID is scanned, the electronic system would automatically check the sex offender database for the visitor's name.

The policy places additional scrutiny upon visitors based on their level of involvement with students. To determine which level of scrutiny visitors would undergo, they'll be categorized into three tiers.

Tier 1 visitors include volunteers and guests who enter the school for a one-time event and have little or no unsupervised exposure with students. Examples of Tier 1 visitors are guest speakers, guest readers, concession stand workers, office helpers, non-classroom assistants, field day assistants, booster club members and PTA members.

According to the proposed policy, Tier 1 visitors must undergo the following screening requirements:

Be sponsored or approved by a school employee.

Be able to provide a form of current government-issued photo identification such as a driver's license, passport or military ID.

Sign in at the main office using the volunteer sign-in program, which includes a criminal disclosure and sex offender registry check.

Surrender a volunteer identification badge given to volunteers in the front office, which will be given back when the volunteer leaves the school.

“I'm not sure what other forms of ID will be valid until we purchase the software for this,” Daria said. “We don't know how much the software costs yet.

“From the systems we have seen, it would identify a potential match as a sex offender with an immediate notification.”

Tier 2 visitors are volunteers who go into the classrooms and work with children. They're generally supervised by school employees.

Volunteers categorized as Tier 2 are subject to all the same requirements as Tier 1 visitors, but they must also fill out a “school volunteer application” to the principal of the school and complete a volunteer orientation program with the principal.

Tier 3 visitors are volunteers who have unrestricted exposure to students and work with them unsupervised.

Tier 3 volunteers would undergo the same requirements as Tier 1 and Tier 2 volunteers and a criminal background check.

The background check results must not include any felony offenses, sex offenses, drug offenses within the past five years and any misdemeanors within the past five years that would be considered dangerous to children.

Daria said that if a visitor doesn't pass a sex offender registry or background check, it doesn't automatically mean that they won't be allowed to volunteer.

He said each situation will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

“The policy doesn't say if you have a record you cannot volunteer,” Daria said. “We just have to be knowledgeable of who's in our buildings and working with our students in any capacity.

“(If a visitor has a record or is a registered sex offender) we'll first have to determine if the individual is allowed to be on school grounds,” he said. “We'll then assess the circumstances and whether they're volunteering or visiting. If the individual is not supposed to be on school grounds, we'll not allow them on school grounds. If that, of course, warrants the involvement of the police department, we will call them. Sometimes it's a matter of an administrator speaking to the individual and it being handled like that.”

The board will vote on the policy at its 6 p.m. meeting.

Reach Jamon Smith at jamon.smith@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0204.

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